InsatiableAmos

Hey guys, just picked up an early '85 944 w/ a dead transaxle for $900 and ebayed the same vintage transaxle for $450...

I've searched around a little, and what i wanted to do just to get the car on the road so i can register it and start cleaning it up was to swap the transmission (of course), and change the oil.

I come from the subaru world, where a bad choice in oil viscosity could mean a spun crank bearing... What weight do you guys recommend for severe urban driving (san francisco) and maybe a track day/autocross or two?

The current transmission case has a gap crunched through it right where the passenger side axle connects. Any idea what could have caused this? It would seem to me that even beating on a car ruthlessly shouldn't do that...

Finally, the car has had (in the last 5k miles): clutch, timing belt, front struts, oil pump/seals, and exhaust. It's getting: new tranny/engine oil, new battery, and possibly new spark plugs pending how bad they look. What else would you recommend to ensure a reliable daily driver from an 108k 944?

InsatiableAmos

Oh, also...what're the largest tires i can get away with on the optional 16" Fuchs wheels for early '85s? (stock front: 205/55/16 stock rear: 225/50/16)

Rubbing is not acceptable...

Sheng

In a few days i'll be running front: 225/50/16 and rear: 245/50-60/16
i'll let you know how that ends up

xsboost90

stock they run 15w40 shell rotella- i do alot of autox/track/spirited driving and i run 20-50 castrol, as long as its warm out.

M758

For street use any oil works well.

For track use it all depends on how hard you track the car. Rod bearings have been know to spin and oil is only one part of that equation. For serious track use there are a number of things you can do. Some are bit more costly that others and most are not needed for the occasional track day. The biggest thing you can do at the track or autocross is just make sure the oil level is full. Never overfull, but just full. At high rpms/high load the engines will burn or leak more oil than on the street so you need to watch things closely. Check oil level each session to ensure you are not low by the end of the day.

M758

BTW... on the track the cars are faster with 15" wheels and 225/50's (or 225/45's) on all corners. On the street they look better on 16's. 205/55 and 225/50 are nice choice and 225/50 245/45's can be fitted on 7's and 8's if you want to run them. If you use the right wheels you can run 245's or even 275's as there is enough space under the fenders. However I would not see the need to run more than 225/245 on an NA on the street. Heck 205/225's are enough and will give the car a more nimble feel than the larger tires. Equal tire sizes front and rear are great for any 944 since it dials out some of the understeer in the stock chassis with staggered setup.

Airflite40

so you got a 944 with 16" fuchs for $900? PICS PLEASE!

welcome....

InsatiableAmos

^^^ Yes sir, i most certainly did.

Here's an OK pic of it (i have to butcher the url because of my low post count): <3 w's dot skidmore dot edu> /~a_epstei/IMGP0051.JPG

Starts and runs beautifully, just doesn't move anywhere yet. It's got a few quirks to it also, though...it looks as if it's been painted (and really badly too), the clearcoat is, of course, faded, and i'm asking about tires because one of the rears is dryrotting.

Thanks for all the recommendations, guys...this was originally bought so i'd have something to drive while i swapped the engine in my subaru, but it's hard to not take care of a porsche.

For reference, this is my subaru (same url butchering):
<3 w's dot skidmore dot edu> /~a_epstei/IMGP8778.JPG

A preetty nice example of a 2000 RS coupe, if you aslk me

InsatiableAmos

Oh, and thanks for all the advice, guys. 15w40 seems REALLY heavy to me, but if that's what's stock, that's what goes in for now. How much is stock capacity, 6 quarts?

75w90 GL-4 gear oil right? That's what i've been reading.

M758

I run 20w50 in my 944 Turbo. It tikes 7.5 qts. My race used close to 7 qts. 15w40 is in mind thin oil. Then agin it may hit 100 this weekend and stay that way though september.

lart951

I see no pictures

M758

Pics from InsatiableAmos

Airflite40

Looks great!

If those fuchs wheels have part #'s starting with 951.xxx..... they are worth more than what you paid for the car!

InsatiableAmos

Hah, awesome. What's a set of those go for? And what if they don't have that part number?

Thanks to M758 for posting my pics...glad someone caught my mangled URLs

Airflite40

If they aren't 951 fuchs they are probably 911 wheels.

The 951 fuchs I have been told go for around $1200 a set.